An easy day at the office for Argentina was a rough one for Bolivia.
The group stage of the Copa America Centenario came to a close on Tuesday night after Argentina cruised to a 3-0 win over already-eliminated Bolivia at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. Two goals in a span of three minutes set the tone for the win, as Erik Lamela struck in the 13th minute before Ezequiel Lavezzi netted in the 15th.
The Group D match's final tally came shortly after the half-hour mark when Victor Cuesta finished a feed from Lavezzi.
Argentina, who did not start Leo Messi but inserted him at the start of the second half, had already secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament prior to the game. The win ensured that they finished in first place of the group, however.
The Argentines will next take on Venezuela in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Box Score
- 13’ – ARG – Erik Lamela
- 15’ – ARG – Ezequiel Lavezzi
- 32’ – ARG – Victor Cuesta (Ezequiel Lavezzi)
- Full box score
- Stats
Three Things
- ALL ARGENTINA: This game was as one-sided as the scoreline indicated. Argentina dominated the possession battle in remarkable fashion despite having a comfortable lead, finishing with 86.1 percent compared to Bolivia's 13.9 percent.
- MORE MESSI MAGIC: We might have only seen Leo Messi for 45 minutes, but he showed plenty of his quality in that span. Messi nearly scored on a bending free kick just after hour-mark, and raced by Carlos Lampe before nutmegging the Bolivian goalkeeper on another play that was ruled dead because the superstar attacker received a pass in an offside position.
- CONTENDERS: The Argentines are the only side to finish the group stage of the Copa America Centenario with a perfect 3-0 record. They scored 10 goals in their group games and conceded just once. All of this with Messi not even starting yet.
Next Up
- ARG: vs. Venezuela (C2) on Saturday, June 18 (7 pm ET | FX)
- BOL: ELIMINATED from Copa America Centenario
